_________________________________________________________________ Cisco-Job Fair _________________________________________________________________ CHINA RELAXES CONTROLS ON INTERNET ACCOUNTS __________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 1996 Nando.net Copyright © 1996 Reuter Information Service

SHANGHAI (Sep 25, 1996 08:48 a.m. EDT) - China has removed limits on the country's number of Internet accounts following the recent installation of safety controls on the computer network, a senior Shanghai telecommunications official said on Wednesday.

Safety controls... nice euphemism, similar to "key recovery".

"Some time ago, our security arrangements were incomplete and there was a problem with pornographic and politically unacceptable material," said Zhang Weihua, vice-president of the Shanghai Post and Telecommunications Administration.

[...]

Zhang said access to sites on the Internet containing pornographic or politically unacceptable material had been restricted, adding, "This material is restricted all over the world."

He declined to give details of the security controls placed on the servers, saying he was only responsible for the technical side of the service.

But Zhang did say he was unaware of any restrictions on access to major international news sites through China's Internet servers.

Foreign reports have suggested that China has cut off access to such news sites. Analysts say that China is concerned over development of public computer networks and their use by people opposed to communist rule or communist policies.

[...]

Zhang said for "security" reasons there was a need to control information and discussion on the Internet and related bulletin board services.

"But surveys done on the usage and interests of people in China with Internet access indicate that virtually all the material they wanted to look at is domestic," he said.

Due to language differences, I would guess.

China's key Internet Service Provider (ISP) selling access accounts is Chinanet, controlled by the Post and Telecommunications Bureau.

Zhang said the bureau took measures earlier this year to control unauthorised activities of other access providers, including Shanghai's Fudan University, in order to handle the security issue.

China currently has access points to the Internet in Beijing and Shanghai. It has no plans to add more, Zhang said.

He said his department was being assisted in building its computer network by several American-Chinese originally from mainland China who spent time working with the U.S. space agency NASA.

I see.... (grimace)

Copyright © 1996 Nando.net